The conference meet is at hand for Panther track and field.
In the weeks before the Mountain Eight Championship, Franklin continued to round into postseason form, traveling to two separate meets at the Tryon Equestrian Center. There they impressed in their last action of the regular season.
“We walked out of there with a bunch of season-best marks and personal records,” said head coach Matt Harlfinger of the trip to Polk County Jan. 15. “Kai Pelletier had a personal best in the long jump, and I think that moved her into 12th in the long jump for 5A. The top 12 get to advance to state, and she’s one we’re kind of trying out in a new event, so she’s doing well. Kamden Reis improved her triple jump standing, and I think she slid up to maybe fifth in the state.”
Just five days after a competitive meet at Winston-Salem’s JDL Fast Track, nearly a dozen of Franklin’s best athletes enjoyed a well-earned rest day, letting their teammates steal the spotlight in Polk County. For the Panthers in attendance, the smaller meet provided a chance to improve in specific events.
“Freshman Nicole Cameron had a big race in the 55 hurdles; she was one we were so excited about. She did such a good job in middle school as a hurdler and sprinter and jumper, and she was one of the freshmen I was really excited to get a hold of this year and develop,” said Harlfinger. “She had a great race in the 55 hurdles with a personal best, as did Jonas Phillips. Jonas actually improved his ranking; he slid up a couple spots, and as he’s knocking on the door to qualifying himself. And then probably the biggest one of the night was Ken Modlin in the 300 ran a lifetime-best 35.90, and that put him on the ranking list. He hadn’t been in the rankings yet, but on the boys side he’s ranked sixth right now for 5A.”
Between trusty veterans like Modlin, Reis, Phillips and Pelletier, and young up-and-comers like Cameron, Panthers across the roster turned in strong performances. Six days later, the team returned to Tryon for a much larger meet.
“This was our pre-conference tune-up, I guess you could call it. The majority of our conference schools were there with Pisgah, Smoky [Mountain], East Henderson, North Henderson, West Henderson,” said Harlfinger of the Pisgah Invitational Jan. 21. “There were 20 total schools, and some of those schools like Palisades High School out of Charlotte, A.C. Reynolds, T.C. Roberson, Asheville and McDowell are all local to the Asheville area. They’re all bigger than us, and out of 20 teams we were able to take first place in boys and girls.”
Ahead of the Mountain Eight Conference Championships Jan. 29, Wednesday’s meet gave Franklin a key litmus test just before the postseason. With more top performances, the Panthers passed with flying colors.
“On the girls’ side we just really flexed our muscles, and we ran away with it. I think we took first place by over 40 points,” said Harlfinger. “Adrianna Stewart – she’s a freshman for us – she had a personal best by over a foot in the pole vault. ... Adrianna was able to clear eight feet, nine inches, which moves her up to third in the state for 5A, and I would say she’s secured her spot on the state team. ... Avynlee Anderson is a sophomore for us; she was in the same event. She tied her personal best at seven feet, nine inches, and she’s currently fifth in the state for 5A.”
With a young and talented group coached by Joel Lynch and Johnny Mira-Knippel, the Panthers are once again one of the state’s top pole vaulting programs. On the boys side another underclassman turned in perhaps his best meet yet.
“Maybe the performer of the meet for us was sophomore Drew Hodges. He had a personal best in the high jump, a personal best in the pole vault and a personal best in the triple jump,” said Harlfinger. “He triple jumped far enough last night to slide into the top 12, and he may also get an opportunity to compete at the state level here in a couple weeks if he continues to improve. ... Gabe Harrison in the boys’ long jump, he jumped 20 feet, 7 inches; that moves him into a tie for 12th for the state meet, so he’s knocking on the door again.”
With top athletes in seemingly every event group, the Panthers feel they have a chance at men’s and women’s state titles this year. Just three weeks away from the 5A championships, both teams are keeping their eyes on the prize.
“We’ll preach to the kids over the next few weeks that when we get to the state meet, the rankings go out the window. It doesn’t matter if you’re ranked first place or if you’re ranked 12th place, everybody has an equal opportunity to try for that first spot,” said Harlfinger. “We’ve put ourselves in a position where it feels like we’re going to qualify a lot of kids for that state championship. ... It feels good – it feels like we’re trending in the right direction.”